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Paper Stocktake Procedure

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Introduction

This manual explains the procedure to carry out a paper-based stock take using the ‘Merac’ back office software. Carrying out the following process is only designed to be done while you are closed, so the tills should not be trading during this process. All stock adjustments and purchase orders should also be up to date before starting your stock take, so these need to be checked and processed as required in the ‘Merac’   software before you start the procedures explained in this manual.

During this procedure the stock levels of the stock items involved are first reset to zero. The new count is then entered and this stock count can then be finalised, to enable you to easily get a report on the stock take variance. This will give the difference (variance) between the stock level immediately prior to starting this process and the new stock count figures entered. Please note if you need a copy of the current stock levels before doing the stock take, then please ensure you run and print or save the required stock reports at this point. These can be found in Reports > Stock Reports.

Disclaimer:

Please note that this manual requires the user to have prior knowledge and training on the Merac back office software. Where elements of the software are not explained, this is because these features need to be set up by an experienced user of the Merac software prior to using this manual. Please note that if further training is required on this or any topic, then please contact your Customer Success Account Manager for a quote for the required training.

 

Opening the Stock Take Screen.

After logging into ‘Merac’ back office software, click on:

1. ‘Setup’ then 2. ‘Stock’ then 3. double click the ‘Stock Receipt/Take’ button.

You will now see the below screen.

The process of starting any stock take in ‘Merac’ is to reset the stock take count of all stock items to zero (referred to as a “zeroise” of the stock). This process is explained in the following section.

 

Performing a Zeroise 

Click on the ‘Start Stocktake/Zeroise’ button.

You now must select which specific stock records are to be “zeroised” by doing the following:

  • Select the required ‘Stock Location’ from the dropdown menu for which this stock take is being carried out.
  • Select the required ‘Stock Group’ from the dropdown menu (select either a specific group or ‘All groups’).
  • Select the required ‘Supplier’ from the dropdown menu (select either a specific supplier or ‘All suppliers’).
  • Select the required ‘Valuation Group’ from the dropdown menu (select either a specific group or ‘All groups’).
  • In the box under ‘Please enter a meaningful name for this zeroise/stock take’ enter an appropriate name.

N.B. it is recommended to include information on what was counted, the count date and the name / initials of the person responsible, for example Main Store 01/01/20 John Smith. This will enable you to find this stock take zeroise, more easily later and this is also advised for auditing purposes.

Please read the warning above, then click in the box here so the ü is showing.

N.B. at this point we recommend that you note down the details of the above zeroise and the specific time that you carried out this zeroise, as this may be required to get your stock take variance report.

Next click the ‘Ok’ button at the bottom of the above screen to proceed.

At the below screen click the ‘Ok’ button.

Next click the ‘Ok’ button.

You will now be back at the screen shown below, so click on the ‘Close’ button.

You have now performed a “zeroise” for the selected criteria, which is the start of the stock take process.

 

Creating a Stock Count Sheet

Select ‘Paper Stock Take’ from the ‘Data Source’ dropdown (in the '(1) Configure Stock Take Options' section)

Ensure the ‘Adjustment Type’ is set to ‘Stock Take (Replace Qty Figs)’.

Ensure you select the ‘From Location’ as the location for which this stock take is being carried out for.

Now click on the ‘Create New’ button.

Select the ‘Item Group’ from the dropdown (select a specific one or leave as ‘All Groups’).

Select the ‘Supplier’ from the dropdown (select a specific one or leave as ‘All Suppliers’).

Select the ‘Valuation Group’from the dropdown (select a specific one or leave as ‘All Valuation Groups’).

Select the ‘Lines per page’ you want on your count sheet as required (minimum 10, maximum 60 lines per page).

Select the ‘Order by’ as required (you can order the count either by ‘Barcode’ or ‘Stock Description’).

In the ‘Stock Take’ box type in a detailed reference for this stock take count sheet as required.

We recommend including e.g. the stock location, date and your name, or initials (e.g. Main Stores 01/01/20 JS).

You can add extra information as required, so you can find this specific count sheet easily later.

Next, click on the ‘Create Stock Take Sheet’ button.

Now the count sheet has been created, click on the ‘Save’ button.

Next click on the ‘Yes’ button.

Once you have saved the stock take sheet, you can now print it.

 

Printing the Stock Count Sheet

Click on the ‘Print Stock Take Sheet’ button

To print a hard copy of your stock count you first select the required printer, then click on the ‘Print’ button

Once the copies have printed, click on the ‘Cancel’ button to exit the above screen.

Next click on the ‘Close’ button.

 

Carry out the Stock Take Count

Now take the printed stock take count sheets and count your stock.

Write the counts on the stock take count sheets that were printed in the previous section.

Once the count has been completed on the stock take count sheets, go into Setup > Stock > Stock Receipt /Take.

Now proceed to the next section of this guide.

 

Entering the Stock Take Count

To enter the stock take count figures into Merac you need to be on the below screen.

In the ‘Data Source’ dropdown ensure that ‘Paper Stock Take’ is selected here.

Also ensure that the ‘Adjustment Type’ is set to ‘Stock Take Replace Qty Figs’.

Next ensure that ‘Stock Take’ is selected here, if not select it by clicking on it.

From the ‘Filename’ dropdown, select the file name of the stock take you just created.

Now click on the ‘Edit Stock Take Sheet’ button.

Click in the ‘Counted’ box to the right of each item and type in the number counted.

When you type in a figure and press enter, then the cursor automatically drops to the next line.

You can also use the arrow keys to scroll up and down the stock count sheet as required.

You can go to a specific page and line of the stock take count sheet.

To do this type in the required information in the ‘Page’ and ‘Line’ boxes where shown, then press the arrow button.

This will then take you to the specified page and line of the stock take count sheet.

Please note a page break is indicated by a thick black line on the stock take count sheet.

Once all the stock count values have been entered, check that they are all correct.

 Once all the count figures are checked, click on the ‘Save’ button.

Now click on the ‘Yes’ button.

Next click on the ‘Close’ button.

Please note as long as you save this count sheet, you can go back into it and edit it as many times as you like.

Once you are happy all the count has been entered and saved, you need to upload this count into Merac.

This process is detailed in the next section.

Loading the Stock Take Count

Make sure that the ‘Data Source’ is selected as ‘Paper Stock Take’.

The ‘Adjustment Type’ must also be set to ‘Stock Take (Replace Qty Figs)’.

Next, select the ‘From Location’ as the stock location name that this stocktake is being carried out for.

First ensure the 'Stocktake' option is selected by clicking on it.

Next from the ‘Filename’ dropdown ensure you select the file name of the stock take you just created.

Next click the dropdown arrow to the right of the date and time (that will be showing as 01 Jan 2000 00:00)

A calendar will pop up on which you need to select the date that this count was completed on.

Next click on the '00' for the hours and type in the hour when the stock take was completed (in 24 hour format').

Finally click on the '00' for the minutes and type in the minutes when the stock take was completed.

N.B. at this point we recommend that you note down the date and time that you selected here, as this may be required to get your stock take variance report (see the Stock Take Reports section).

Check again the time, date and year is correct: it must be after that of the zeroise (also future dates aren't allowed)!

Next click on the ‘Upload and Complete Stock Take’ button on the above screen.

As long as you see the correct stock location here, then click on the ‘Yes’ button.

If the wrong stock location is shown on the above screen, then click ‘No’.

You would then go back and follow the process on the previous page and select the required stock location

You should now see the stock take count figures appear where shown.

Please note at this point you should double check the stock take count figured entered are correct.

 

Adding Items to the Stocktake

If you notice an item is missing from the stocktake, then click on the ‘Add new Line’ option so that it is selected.

Then click the binoculars button.

Now use the search screen to find the item, e.g. type in a description (or code) then press the ‘Search’ button.

If the search finds multiple items click on the specific stock item you want to add so that is highlighted yellow.

If only one item was found as in the above search then it will be highlighted automatically.

Once the required item is highlighted in the above screen, click ‘Use Selected Item’.

Type in the required amount of stock you want to add in the ‘Quantity’ box.

Click on the ü  button to accept the quantity of this item.

Repeat as required until all missing items have been added to the stocktake.

Deleting items from the count data is covered in the next section.

 

Deleting Items from the Stocktake

You can also delete an item from the stocktake at this point if required. 

To do this click on the item so that it becomes highlighted yellow.

Now click on the ‘X’ button and this item (and any count for it) will be deleted from the stocktake.

Repeat as required to delete the necessary items from the stocktake.

You can also edit the quantity of an item that has a count in the above screen, this is covered in the next section.

Amending the Stocktake Count

Alternatively, you can amend the quantity of an item that is already in the stocktake.

To do so, click on the required item so that it is highlighted yellow.

Now click on the ‘Update Line’ option, so that it is selected.

Next type in the required count figure in the ‘Quantity’ box.

Finally click on the ü  button to accept the new quantity.

 

Accepting the Stocktake Count

Only once you are totally sure that all the stocktake figures are correct, click on the ‘OK’ button to proceed.

At the next screen there is another ‘Ok’ button that must be clicked to confirm you want to proceed.


Now you must wait for the stocktake to be uploaded and processed, which may take several minutes!

Do not close the Merac software until the following screen appears!

Once the above screen appears, click on the ‘Ok’ button.

Please note at this point the stock holding figures of the stock items for the specific stock location, item group(s) and supplier(s) that you specified in this stocktake have now been updated with the count figures you entered. You can see this by running the relevant reports (see Stocktake Reports section below for the main stock reporting options).

 

Finalising the Stock Take

Please note there is an additional process to finalise the stock take. This is not mandatory (as the stock figures of the items you have entered a count for have been updated at this point), but it is recommended as: 

(1)    This checks for any items that were zeroised and no count was enter but they have been sold since the zeroise. (2)    This allows you to more easily get your stock take variance report, as you can select any finalised stock take by selecting its name from a dropdown in the relevant report.

N.B. you can still get a stock take variance report if you do not do the finalise. However, to get this report you would need to have noted down the date and time of both the specific zeroise and stock take count!

To start the process, click ‘Finalise Stocktake’.

Select the name of the relevant zeroise you want to finalise, using the dropdown menu.

As the paper-based stock take is designed to be done only when you are closed, then no stock items should show in the above screen. However, as a check if any stock items appear in this screen it means they were (a) zeroised and (b) did not have a count entered for them and (c) the stock items listed have been sold since the zeroise!

 Please note as a paper based stock  take is designed only to be carried out when you are closed, only the option detailed below  should apply. However, all the possible other scenarios are covered (see below) in case items were accidentally sold during a paper stock take.

If no stock items are listed in this screen below (which would be as expected):

Click the option ‘Don’t post anything just mark the stock-take as complete’ and click ‘OK’.

You will then see the message ‘Stocktake Finalised’ in the centre of the screen. Click ‘OK’ to close this message.

If stock items are listed in the above screen, there are 3 options:

(1) Click the option:           Record a zero stock take for the above items (the last item was sold since the stock location was zeroised therefore I couldn’t count it)

This option will do exactly as it suggests, a zero will be entered as the count for the listed stock items.

(2) Click the option:           ‘Don’t do anything just mark the stock take as complete’

This means that the stock quantity of these stock items will remain exactly as they are currently.

N.B. as there have been sales after the zeroise, this may mean that the stock quantity of these stock items are negative! If you want to check / amend this stock quantity before finalising the stock take, go to point 3 (below).

If either option (1) or (2) were selected, then the next step is to click the ‘Ok’ button (at the bottom of the screen).

At the next screen that shows the message ‘Stocktake Finalised’, click ‘Ok’ again.

You have now finalised the stock take, so click the ‘Close’ button on the above screen to exit it.

(3) Instead of proceeding, at this point you may want to first check the stock history of these stock items.

      If so, please take a screenshot of the stock items listed in the above screen and save it in your preferred software.

      Click the ‘Close’ button on the above screen and then check the stock levels and history of the items in question.

     You may want to go and re-count the stock of any items at this point, or you could use the stock reports to check the history for these stock items (in Report > Stock Reports). Many reports are available to check the history of stock movements but e.g. the ‘Stock Audit Trail’ report could be run for the required stock location, then use the search facility in the report to find the required stock items (see the next section for more details on reports).                   

After running any reports to check the stock quantity and history, you may also want to update the quantity of

any stock item(s) to be as required. This can be done using the ‘Stock Adjustments’ functionality in the usual way

(Setup > Stock > Stock Adjustments) update the quantity of each stock item to be as required.                   

Once you are happy to proceed, you would now go back to the start of this section and follow the process explained in this section of the manual.

 

Stocktake Reports

We recommend that you now go into Reports > Stock Reports and print off the various reports that you require.

The main reports that most customers run after carrying out a stock take are detailed below:

 

‘Stock Take Variance (Landscape)’ Report 

This is found in Reports > Stock Reports > Stock Take Variance (Landscape).

N.B. if you carried out the stock take as per this guide and finalised, use this report to get the stocktake variance.

Pick the required stock take that you want to see the report for from the ‘Zeroise ID’ dropdown below.

Print hard copies, view, or export the report as usual.

N.B. if you did not finalise the stock take, then this report cannot be used to get the stock take variance.

If so, then you would need to use the ‘Stock Variances’ report (see below).

 

'Stock Take Variances' Report 

If you have not finalised a stock take you must use this report to get the stock take variance.

This report is found in Reports > Stock Reports > Stock Variances.

N.B. in order to run this report to get any meaningful data, you must have made a record of the following:

  • The date and time you carried out the relevant zeroise.
  • The ‘Date and Time of Stocktake’ you specified for the relevant stock take count.

Pick the specific ‘Stock Location’ and ‘Stock Group’ (latter if needed) to be as required.

To get the variance you would need to set the:

  • ‘From Date/Time’ to immediately before the zeroise date/ time.
  • ‘To Date/Time:’ to immediately after the ‘Date and Time of Stocktake’ you selected.

Print hard copies of the report, or view, or export it as usual.

 

'Stock Valuation' Report 

This report can be used to find the current stock valuation data for the selected parameters (shown below).

This report is found by clicking Reports > Stock Reports > Stock Valuation Report

Select the parameters from the above screen and then view, print or export the report as required.

Please note select the ‘Detailed Information’ option to see the information for each stock item.

N.B. the ‘Summary Information’ view will only show the total stock value for each ‘Stock Group’.

 

'Stock Audit Trail' Report 

This report can be used to find the detailed audit trail of every individual stock movement that happened for the selected parameters (shown below). This report is found by clicking Reports > Stock Reports > Stock Audit Trail

Select the parameters from the above screen and then view, print or export the report as required.

 

'Stock Movements' Report 

This report can be used to find a summary for each stock item of the various stock movement types for the selected parameters (shown below). This report is found by clicking Reports > Stock Reports > Stock Movements.

Select the parameters from the above screen and then view, print or export the report as required.

N.B. ensure you select the required costing from the ‘Stock Cost Basis:’ dropdown before running the report.

Footnote:

If you cannot see any one of these reports, then first contact the relevant colleague at your organisation that is responsible for setting up and maintaining the ‘Users’ and ‘Security Groups’ in the Merac software. They may need to change / edit the ‘Security Group’ you are in to enable you to see the above reports.

If you still cannot see the above reports, or you have issues when running these reports then please log a ticket wit our Support Team detailing the issue, the name of the reports (with screenshots of error messages if applicable) and the username you are logging on to Merac with and they will be able to assist.